OI: What initially drew you to the world of sailing yachts?
I was born in Nantes, France, and as a teenager and young adult, I sailed extensively in South Brittany, participating in numerous offshore regattas. I started on a 7.5-metre Joubert-Nivelt designed, ¼ Tonner named IMPULSION and later moved on to larger vessels like COYOTE, a 12-metre Berret-Finot-Fauroux design, and Xeryus by Bruce Farr.
My involvement in competitive sailing, including two Admiral’s Cups for France and several World Championships with my best friend, Bruno Troublé, former America’s Cup Helmsman, deeply influenced my passion. During holidays, I cruised the Caribbean, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean on WHITHER, our family’s elegant 100-foot sloop designed by Gilles Vaton. After my father-in-law passed away in 2003, it was a natural progression for my wife and me to embark on the WHIMSY project.
OI: As someone who values both the thrill of sailing and the comforts of luxury yachting, how were these two aspects reflected and combined in the design brief?
When I approached Philippe Briand, a brilliant designer known for his America’s Cup Challenger French Kiss and record-setting MARICHA III, my brief was clear. I wanted a fast sloop that looked like a racing boat but could sail comfortably worldwide. The essence of my dream included four practical and reliable features:
- No complicated moving keel system.
- A reasonable 3.2-metre draft for performance.
- A lightweight yet structurally solid fibreglass hull, avoiding the noise issues of carbon. As a result, we settled with just the deck in carbon for structural reinforcement and weight reduction.
- Simplified hydraulic systems to manage the 24-metre sloop with a minimal crew.
Interior spaces were designed for comfort and functionality, with three equal-sized cabins, a large salon, and generous crew quarters. This concept was in line with our desire of having our guests treated in the same manner as us. Thus, for charters (even if WHIMSY has never been offered to charter) her interiors are more equitable, and easier to manage.
My brief for the exterior spaces was born out of years of previous sailing experience. For example, just as WHITHER (the family boat I grew up on) had a spacious cockpit and centralised winch and line systems for guest safety and convenience, I wanted to mirror this on WHIMSY. Further to this, I wanted to avoid having the main sail rail on deck, but chose instead to have a fixed point behind the wheel.
OI: WHIMSY has been continuously updated since you took delivery in 2005. What enhancements have you found most beneficial?
Over the years, we have updated or replaced every necessary element. Technological advancements have been significant, so all electronic systems were upgraded three years ago. We also replaced the main engine once and the generator twice, ensuring WHIMSY remains at the forefront of performance and reliability.
OI: What features of WHIMSY make her perfect for longer cruises?
In my “brief” I requested a large garage for a 3.4-metre dinghy, with access via two doors opened on the deck, and not by a door at the back, as from experience this has a lot of advantages. Chief among which is the fact you can launch the tender even in a fair swell, which can’t be done with a traditional garage at the stern.
We opted to have a garage on the foredeck rather than simply sitting the tender on deck as from experience it can be dangerous when crossing oceans and facing a serious sea, not to mention, it is unaesthetic from my point of view. The downside is we lost some interior space somewhere, but being able to launch the tender at all times is a great comfort to have at sea.
But, the most important for longer cruises is of course the layout and practicality of the interior space. On WHIMSY we wanted simple and practical interiors, with ample storage for provisions and easy access to the engine room. Franck Darnet, an experienced yacht interior designer, focused on ergonomics and practicality, making spaces efficient and user-friendly even when heeling under sail.
OI: Can you recall a time that you truly tested WHIMSY’s sailing capabilities?
In 2007, during a 1,000-mile passage from Tonga to New Zealand, we encountered 24 hours of 35-50 knot winds. WHIMSY, with her reduced sail configuration, handled it perfectly, while a smaller 40 foot yacht capsized during the night.
Another memorable passage was in 2010 between Bermuda and Newport, Rhode Island. After a night of strong winds, we were under full mainsail and Genoa with 10-15 knots of wind with a 45° heel angle, when around 100 miles before the Gulf Stream zone, we met facing our bow a wave looking like a wall around 10 metres high.
It was a first for me … no time to understand what was happening? What to do? Fortunately, WHIMSY rode over the wave with no issue … a second wave came half an hour later … but that time we were confident in WHIMSY’s stability, positioned her bow facing the wave, and the same smooth push again took us over the wave. Nobody on the deck will ever forget this extraordinary situation … thank WHIMSY.
OI: What destinations have you explored with her that stood out the most?
The Pacific Ocean, particularly Fiji, Tahiti, and New Zealand, offers extraordinary sailing experiences. The Baltic Sea, with its thousands of beautiful islands, is also remarkable. Arriving in major cities under sail is a unique way to explore, with places like New York, Stockholm, and Venice being particularly memorable.
OI: The choice of a yacht can say a lot about an Owner. What do you think WHIMSY says about you?
I have been founder and owner of a major “Franco-Anglo-American” design company involved in new concepts of products and retail outlets. So, WHIMSY’s design has inherited my professional experience and personal culture. My brief and the choice of Philippe Briand and Franck Darnet was a direct consequence of that.
I wanted WHIMSY to be an expression of my philosophy in design: “Less is more” (Mies van der Rohe) or as my old friend Terence Conran put it: “Beauty comes from simplicity and truth of form”.
OI: In your view, what sets WHIMSY apart from other yachts you considered before making your purchase?
By 2001, after chartering around the Seychelles on a 70 foot, easily run by an English couple, I decided to develop the WHIMSY project in the 78 foot format.
At the time, I went to the Monaco Yacht Show, considering both Wally and Southern Wind. While Wally’s designs were innovative, they were too race-oriented for my needs. Southern Wind had a good reputation, but their designs didn’t fully meet my requirements. Ultimately, having the opportunity because of my past involvement in the America’s Cup to visit yards in New Zealand in 2001, I decided to entrust Vaudrey Miller, a very serious yard based in Auckland (neighbour of the famous Alloy Yard) to build a “one off”—as a synthesis of a beautiful and innovative Wally and the robustness of a Southern wind.
OI: Reflecting on your experiences with WHIMSY, what lessons have you learned about yacht construction and ownership that you will carry forward into your next yachting adventure?
First of all, the key is the deep involvement of the architect and their team, especially when you are a 24-hour flight away at a time when the Internet was quite new.
Not all architects are as deeply involved as Philippe Briand in the building process; chasing weight until the last kilogram, involved in a door handle design or the choice of the wood grain as well as the performance under sail.
I have to say, if I were to build WHIMSY again today, I would change very little. An under-80-foot sloop remains the ideal size, balancing the ability to handle severe weather with maintaining a close connection to the sea. Also keeping operational costs reasonable, she is the maximum size for a reduced crew to manage efficiently, and because she is below 24 metres, she has the permission to drop anchor in the Balearics and Corsica without heavy restrictions.
OI: Can you share the story behind choosing the name WHIMSY?
At the time of choosing the name, my wife, our young children and I had already sailed a lot during the 90s on my father-in-law’s 100 foot sloop named WHITHER. This old and poetic English word has the enigmatic meaning “vers où ?” [to where?] in French. An invitation to explore all the seas of the world—which we did (the Caribbean, US east coast, Scotland, Baltic, Mediterranean, to name a few).
This wonderful sloop, at the time unique by her size, was sold by the Ocean Independence Palma Office in 2003 to become SUZANNE OF STOCKHOLM and now AIZU.
We wanted to keep the link with WHITHER, but wanted a new name. So, like WHITHER, WHIMSY will be Matterhorn white, with a touch of yellow “bouton d’or” and her name will start with a “W”.
After some research, we found “WHIMSY”, not used by any boat under a red flag, and more importantly, meaning playful, fanciful, out of the box … what better invitation to fulfil the exploration of the world. That is exactly what we have done with WHIMSY.
